Duke Reverses: No Muslim Prayer Broadcast from Chapel Tower

Legal Insurrection

 "For now, Duke’s chapel bell tower won’t be working double duty as Muslim minaret."

 

"According to WRAL:

Two days after announcing that Islamic students would be broadcasting a weekly call to prayer from the Duke Chapel bell tower, Duke University officials abandoned that plan Thursday, citing the furor the move had created.

Members of the Duke Muslim Students Association were supposed to start the three-minute weekly call or chant, known as adhan or azan, on Friday afternoon. Now, the call to prayer will take place in a quad outside the chapel.

“Duke remains committed to fostering an inclusive, tolerant and welcoming campus for all of its students,” Michael Schoenfeld, Duke’s vice president for public affairs and government relations, said in a statement. “However, it was clear that what was conceived as an effort to unify was not having the intended effect.”

Khalilah Sabra, executive director of the Muslim American Society in Raleigh, called Duke’s reversal “a terrible shame,” saying it’s unfair for Graham and others to blame all Muslims for the violent acts of a few."

The sound of the call to prayer: